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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

What I've Learned

Well, as a lot of you lovely readers know, my life over the past 10 months or so has been very different from my life before that. It was quite a culture shock to transition from city living to suburban living, to move from way up North to way down South, to graduate from a very intense and busy Masters program and into real life, with both its freedoms and its constraints. This has been such a time of newness and learning and "figuring out," and there have been some ups and downs. Today, I thought it might be fun to share some of what I've learned in these last few months.

iPhone shot of the morning light streaming into our little apartment.

Cooking for two is always more rewarding than cooking for one.

Don't buy filet mignon from traveling salesmen, even if they tell you it's high-quality meat and it seems like a great deal (can you tell that we learned this the hard way?).

Always take advantage of military discounts! Even little ones, like 10% off at Lowe's and Michael's, do make a difference over time.

It's so much harder to keep a two-story, two-bedroom townhouse clean than it is to keep a teeny-tiny two bedroom city apartment clean.

Going to the gym can be fun! As long as it's a Zumba class you're headed to.

Curtains are tricky. I'm still working on my curtain style. I've never had so many windows to dress up in my life, and there was certainly some trial and error involved!

Trusting in God's plan, not my plan, is the best way to go through life.

A good vacuum is so important. We don't have one yet, and I get very cranky when I use the mediocre one we do have.

Starting out the day with a cup of tea and writing is such a treat.

Don't spend money on an expensive blender. This one does the trick beautifully.

Built-in bookshelves are a top priority for the first home we own. The stacks of books around our house are getting taller and taller!

Sharing a home with my husband is even sweeter than I'd imagined.

Painting furniture is the best way to give old pieces new life. And one of the best ways to give your home a fun, eclectic, look!

Things are cheaper in the deep South. Way cheaper.

Blogging is such a joy. Now that I've started this blog that I've had in the back of my mind for so long, I can't imagine life without Something Ivory and all of my lovely readers.

And so much more...

It might be fun to make this a series, a way to catalog and reflect on life as it changes and moves forward and takes us with it. Maybe I'll check back in with another few things I've learned in a couple months. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Tell me below or write your own post! What have you learned?

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comments:

Did YOU buy frozen meat from the Capital Meats guy, too?!?! We just felt so bad for the guy. He looked like he was being chased by a loan shark or something. Never again. Never again. HahaAnd when we moved into our house, I was so shocked by how much more cleaning it required. :(And, lastly, we are in the market for a good vacuum....

Oh yes we did. It wasn't horrible, per say, but it wasn't at all good. He convinced us he was giving us a great military price, and it seemed enticing at the time. Since then we've had 4 or 5 meat salesman show up!!! We never have the heart to tell them we don't like their meat, haha, so we just politely say that we already bought some and our freezer is full. Lesson learned!

Regarding you curtain comment - I JUST found the prettiest looking drapes (mind you, I loved the way they looked in the Pottery Barn magazine, haven't seen them in person) the other day and I have decided that I will get these when Will and I get a house!http://www.potterybarn.com/products/peyton-linen-cotton-grommet-drape/?pkey=ccotton-linen-drapes

I love how the texture of linen barely shows through as well and the elongating effect these give!

Oh yes, these sure are beautiful! I am in love with everything from Pottery Barn. (hey, they're on sale, maybe you should invest in them now!). I love the way they just barely touch the floor in these photos. I'd get them in ivory (of course!) :)

door-to-door meat salesman? sketchy! haha. I've never heard of that before. I hear you on trusting God's plan. I've really been challenged with that as we approach having a baby and all the changes associated with that! but God will be faithful :)

I love this! Your comment about curtains made me smile. After living in our current apartment for about two years, we finally decided to put curtains up in our bedroom (we had blinds already), and I was amazed at how homey they made the room feel! Little things like that can make such a big difference, even if there's some trial and error to find the right ones. :)

They can definitely make such a big difference! Especially in a place like a bedroom, as you say, to make it more cozy. The whole back wall of our house is a set of French doors and two large windows, and I was so excited to put curtains up! I like the ones I chose, but I'm making subtle mental notes on what to do differently next time. I think there's an art to deciding where to hang them, like, should they just barely touch the floor? An inch above? Bunch at the bottom for a romantic look?

Welcome to Something Ivory! My name is Kate and I write about my life as a classical pianist, a young wife, an enthusiastic cook, a lover of thrift stores and all kinds of design, a modern woman, and a serious Christian. Thank you for visiting!